Improvement in machinery for tapping slivers or bands of hemp and making oakum of



r m. 1,747,. I YVPATENTED AUG. 28, .1840. y W. MONTGOMERY. i MACHINERY EOE PREPARING-OAKUM;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM MONTGOMERY, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

. IMPROVE'MENTIN MACHINERY FOR TAPRINGSLIVERS 0R BANDS-OF HEMP AND MAKING oAk um OF THE SAME.

Specification,forming part of Letters Patent No. l,7 4 7,'datedAugust 28, 1840.

. To all whom it may-concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM MONTGOM- ERY, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Im rovements in Machiner for Tarring Slivers or Bands of Hemp and Forming Oakum of the Same. I v p These improvements, the principles thereof, the application of said principles by which the same may be distinguished from other inventions, together with such parts, improvements,

- or' combinations I claim as my invention and hold to be original and new, Ihave herein described and set forth, thesaid description, taken in'connection with the'accompanying drawings, herein referred to, composing my specification.

The object of my invention is to prepare oakum from the Gordilla hemp, or tow, (sometimes so called,) which is of much poorer quality than the Russia hemp, inasmuch as the fibers of the former are shorter than those of the latter, though equallysound and new,,and sufficiently good for the above-mentioned-purpose, as it produces a'better quality of oakuin than that obtained in the'manner now practiced from the tarred rope and yarn. Another object of my invention is to .prepare the oakuin in a proper roving or sliver, so that without any further preparation than that of beingv properly dried, after passing through the operation of my machinery, it can be applied to its purpose of ealking the seams I of vessels, &c.

the tar to be used. Another box, ,E F G H,

formed oi the same material, and having diverging sides, as shown in the drawings, is arranged around'the former vessel, so as'to leave the space between the sides and bottoms. of the vessels shown in Fig. 2. The top of the vessel E F G H fits closely to that of the vessel A B C D, both being turned over and firmly attachedto the frame-work IK L M, Figs. 2 and '3, which may be supported in any proper manner by stanchions, or attached, as shown in the different figures, or in any other.

suitable 'manne r, to the other parts of the frame-work of the machine, which will be hereinafter mentioned,- Steam is introduced from any proper generator into the space between the vessels A B O D and E F G- H, 1

through an' aperture, ,N, Fig. 2, cut through one side of the exterior vessel, E F G, H, and

very near the bottom of the same. It willbe seen that the steam, by its elasticity, will expand through the space between the vessels,

and that the caloric contained in the steam will be imparted to the tar in the inner vessel through the sides of the same, and as the space is of greater dimensions at the bottom than at the top, where the vessels are in contact, the greater quantity of the-steam 'will be in the position to produce the greatest effeet. This method of heating or dissolving the tar, by which it can be raisedin its temperature nearly to the boiling-point, is much preferable to that of heating it by a constant fire formed of the different kinds of fuel, in-

asmuch as the heat, being diffused around the inner vessel, dissolves the tar more eflectually, and at the same time keeps it in such a state of solution as not to evaporate, but to retain the spirit or essence of the tar, which is very desirable in the operation, as it is this ingredient, and not the rosin, which constitutes its great valuein imparting strength, durability, and flexibility to the article to which it isapplied. A stop-cock at 0, Fig. 2, will allow the condensed steam to be withdrawn when necessary. 7

In order to prevent any accident from an undue pressure of steam, an opening is formed in the side of the exterior vessel, which is closed by a valve, 1, as shown in Fig. 1, on one end of an elastic arm, RS, the othenend being attached to the wood-work T U, Fig. 1. By this'a-rrange'ment it will be seen that any surplus or redundancy of steam will escape through the opening P, and thus liability to.

explosion or. other damage in the vessels is removed.-

Having completed the description of the or tow with tar.

machinery and method by which the tar is prepared, I now proceed to that of the principles and mode of operation of that part of the apparatus which has for its object the production of the oakum, or saturating the hemp The hemp being first .prepared .in suitablerovings or sliversv by any of the various contrivances for such purposes, these rovings are placed in cans at the back of the machine. I

Two feeding-rollers, c b, are arranged at the back of the maehinenear the edge of the inner vessel, A B G D. The journals of these rollers are formed of any proper metal, and are arranged in slots in the upright posts or standards c d, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the journals of the lower roller, b, resting and revolving in the bearings formed. by the bottom of the slots, while the upper roller, a, rests on and adjusts itself by its own weight to thes'urface of the lower roller,-being prevented from moving upward too far by metallic pins 0 e, passing through the standards ad above the journalsof said roller. Motion is imparted to the lower roller by means of the pulley f,Fig.

3, on the extension gof the journal of the roller b, a cross-band, h h, from said pulley f passing round the pulleyt' on the shaft k k, the shaft having bearings atl m, the- I pulleys and shaftk'k deriving their motion from the driving-shaft n a by the operationof the band 0 o and pulleys p and q, arranged,

a respectively, on the shafts a n and k k. One or more rovings from cams before mentioned being passed through the feeding-rollers a b are turned or wound' as one sliver or band around the large reel s M, in the' manner represented [by red lines in -Figs. 2 and 3, the construction and operation of which reel, together with the parts immediately connected to the same, may he thus described: The sides rs tu are formed of solid metal or other suitable material, and are firmly fixed on theshaft o w, the journals as a: of which shaft rest and revolve in proper bearings at y y in the frame-work zz z z, Figs.

2' and 3, which is properly arranged in the inner vessel, A B G D, being immersed, to-

gether with the greater portion of the reel, in the tar in said vessel. Single cross-bars a a and doubleones b b c 0, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, are inserted alternately betweenthe sides rstu of the reel, near the perimeters of the same, the double ones being divided in the center by solid partitions d d, &c., Figs. 2 and 3.

The ends 6 e of movable radial arms or bars 6 f c f, &c., Figs. 1 and 3, are arranged between the double bars a a b b, as seen in, the drawings, the other ends being curved or hooked into the several staples, as shown by dotted lines at gggin the side'r s, and moving loosely in the opening between the bars,

as will readily be perceived by an examination of Figs. 1 and 3. Strips of -metal h h'h ii i" i are arranged, as seen in Fig. 3, before and behind the reel, so as respectively to guide and move the radial arms from the side r s of the reel 'to the partitions d d, 850., and vice versa. The strip 71. h isincli'ned from the side r 8, while that denoted by t i t is inclined toward the same, both being curved or bent so as to be nearly concentric with the circumference of the reel. The object of this arrangement is that, when the roving or sliver passes down to be immersed and saturated with the tar, it may be pressed to the other side of the partitions d cl to make room for that which follows, and to prevent'the end which has been prepared 'from lapping on or touching that portion which comes from the feedingrollers.

The reel is revolved by means of the coggcd wheel k, arranged on one endoffthe shaft 1) w. This wheel is revolved by the cogged pinion Z on the shaft k k, which is turned in the manner above described. It will readily be perceived that the surface of the reel should move alittle faster than the surfaces of the feeding-rollers, and that the proportions of the gearing, pulleys, 850., should be such as to produce this effect. The manner of effecting this arrangement, being understood. by mechanics in general,wil'l require no further explanation on my part.

After the hemp is sufiiciently saturated with the tar it is passed through the drawing-rollers m a, which serve,to press out any superfluous quantity of tar from the roving. The journals'of the lower roller, a, are arranged in proper bearings in the frame A A, support.- ed, as seen in the Figs. 1, 2, and 3, by the stanchions B O. The journals of the upper roller, m, (which is not so wide as the lower roller,) have hearings in the movable levers o p o p, the ends pp turning on pivots passed through the" uprights d g, Figs. 1, 2, and'3,

while the ends 0 o are properly weighted, as seen at r, soas to cause the upper roller, m, to press with sufficient force on the lower roller, n. The surfaces of theserollers should move a little faster than the surface of the reel, mo

tion being imparted to the rollers by means-of the pinion is on the driving-shaft n a, engaging with the cogged wheel 1-. on one j ournal of the lower roller, it, while a cogged wheel, a, on the opposite journal, engages with the cogged wheel '0' on the journal of the upper roller, m, and gives it its requisitemotion in a proper direction. The tar which is pressed from the roving is prevented from collecting in drops or bodieson that part which has passed through and is in front of the rollers (which would render it; unfit for use) by means ,of the curvedguides w' w afar, Fig. 4, which are keptin close contact with the sides of the roller m by means of the ends of the arms a a b b pressing against the said guides w w :10"

as, which arms a a b b may be pressed together by the nuts 0 0?, &c., and screws cut on the rods e ef f. The latter rod, f f, being arranged in the levers 0'12 0' 1), serves to support the arms a 0a b b and rod e" e f. The curved guides w w w a are attached at one end to the rod y y properly arranged in the frame A A, which ends maybe pressed together by nuts and screws, asshown in the drawings, the other ends being properly weighted at h so as to keep the guides 10 w xxin close contact with the surface of the lower roller, a,'to which their curvature is adapted. After passing through the drawing-rollers m a the roving is still further drawn by beingpassed through the system of rollers 2' k I", the jourface of the roller I? moves faster than that of the drawing-roller m, and the surface of each of the rollers k Z moves faster than that of the roller which precedes it, which arrangement serves to separate the fibers of the oakum or draw them a little apart, which renders the operation of picking entirely unnecessary, as after being properly dried the oakum, prepared as above described, is fit for use either in 'a sliver or in convenient-size rovings, into which the band or sliver may be easily separated.

It is well known that the usual method of preparing oakum from hemp is to form it into yarns, and after saturating it with tar to untwist and pick the same, so as to have the fibers separate and loose, and that previous to adapting it to the seams of vessels it is necessary to spin the oakum by hand; but it, will be seen from the description above given that a greater part of this preparation is superseded by my machinery, which renders my apparatus a great labor-saving machine.

Having thus described my improvements in machinery, 1 shall now proceed to specify suchparts or combinations as I claim as my invention- 1. Saturating the hemp 0r sliver by arevolving reel, 1 s t u, immersed in the tar, and also, in combination with the reel, the movable radial arms f, f, and a, playing between thedouble bars a a b b of the reel and also the guiding-strips of metal 7t h i i, arranged as described, the said combination being for the purpose, hereinbefore specified, of sliding part of the roving, asit passes to be immersed. in the tar, to the opposite-side of the reel/re make Way for the portion which comes from the feeding-rollers. I

2. The combination of the system of the rollers m n and z? k P, with the reel 7' 8 if a, arranged substantially as described, the first set, m n, serving to keep out any superfluous quantity of tar from the sliver, and the second set, t is Z, being so constructed and operated that the surface of each succeeding roller shall v move faster than that which precedes it, which separates and draws out the fibers and supersedes the necessity of picking, &c.= q

3. The combinationof the curved guides v w x w, (the ends of which are weighted,-as described,) arms a a? b b", (operated by means of the screws on the rods 6" f f and nuts '0 0*- (1 12",) with the rollers 'm' a, for the purpose of preventing the tar from. getting in lumps or masses on the oakum after it has passed through the said rollers.

scription of my said invention and improvement I have hereto set my signature this 11th day of June, in the year of our Lord 1840.

v WILLIAM Monrooivtntir.-

Witnesses .7 v

' H. EDDY,

' EZRA LiNcoLN, Jr.

In testimony that the above is a truede- 

